Think about it. The mechanism that made the Batman / Joker pairing so fascinating was they were always two sides of the same coin. They were both born of tragedy — but each chose radically different paths from that point.

In the same way, Nightwing and Todd share similar origins: Both became Robin. Both were separated from Batman. And both had to react to Batman’s departure.

In respect to that last point, Nightwing chose to react to the absence of a Batman by carrying on the best of what the Dark Knight stood for. Todd chose to pervert the very worst.

Battle for the Cowl #3, aptly so, features a climactic face-off between the two erstwhile boys wonder.